This invention relates generally to a method of voting and more specifically to a method of voting using an interactive telephone system.
The right to vote as well as the secrecy of the ballot is of fundamental importance to a U.S. citizen and is guaranteed to every citizen by the Constitution of the United States. One of the difficulties in current voting methods is that various regions of the country do not have uniform voting standards nor do all regions have up-to-date voting equipment. These conditions have been found to cause problems in tallying votes as well as identifying those people that are eligible to vote. The present invention comprises a method of voting that uses a single central system that connects to existing home communications equipment and is available to practically everyone. At the same time the method provides a uniform evaluation standard for identification of an eligible voter as well as a uniform standard for tallying a vote for a particular candidate or a vote on a particular issue.
Briefly, the invention comprises an interactive method of voting wherein the voter is issued a voter-specific identification code which allows the voter to use his or her own telephone to call an interactive telephone system which asks the voter questions. The system checks the caller""s responses against a database to confirm that the person calling corresponds to the person identified by the voter-specific identification code. If the person calling is confirmed as the person identified in the voter-specific identification code, the interactive telephone system polls the voter and records the voter preference on issues or candidates.
Once the vote is completed the link between the voter identification information and the vote cast is severed thereby ensuring the secrecy of the ballot while still maintaining a record of who has voted.